BATON
ROUGE - It was Tuesday afternoon, some three days after the
fact, and the smile wouldn't go away.

Elliott Porter was
still floating after getting his first start in an LSU uniform and he didn't
have any intention of coming down to earth any sooner than he needed to.

Who could blame him?

Associated PressSophomore center Elliott Porter (55) took a circuitous route to finally arrive at his first LSU start.

For a kid who spent
most of his first 18 years dreaming about that moment, there had been enough
detours, twists and turns to make him wonder if it was ever going to
materialize.

"My first start was
beautiful," said Porter, a former star at Shaw. "That's the only word I can
think of. I felt like I played a great game, too. It was a dominant performance
from the whole offensive line and I was glad to be out there and be a part of
it."

As jazzed as Porter
was, his role last week against Idaho was symbolic of where the Tigers'
offensive line stands after three weeks.

In flux.

And while that might
seem a little dicey with No. 2-ranked LSU (3-0) set to launch the SEC portion
of its schedule, there's no panic along the front.

In fact, even though there
were times when three different players were on the field in different spots on
the first-team o-line than when the season began, there was a sense that the
ongoing shuffling is a positive sign and not a drawback.

Porter got the start at
center vs. Idaho in place of third-year starter P.J. Lonergan, who was managing
a creaky back.

Right tackle Alex Hurst
swapped to the left side when Josh Dworaczyk got dinged up, and that opened a
spot for freshman Vadal Alexander on the right edge.

Lonergan and Dworaczyk
are expected to be back in their starting roles when the Tigers tangle with
Auburn (1-2, 0-1 SEC) at 6 p.m. Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium. And you better
believe that Porter and Alexander will be poised to go in whenever needed,
though.

"I like the fact that
we were able to move our center and take him out for a couple of series to rest
him and put in Elliott Porter," LSU coach Les Miles said. "I thought he did a
very good job.

"We like Hurst, we like
Dworaczyk and we like Vadal Alexander. All three guys really deserve quality
playing time. They're very big, strong physical, very bright players. The
ability to move them around is a positive. ... The advantage is that you get your
best players on the field and we want to continue that."

Associated PressElliott Porter: 'My first start was beautiful.'

Porter would certainly
like to remain in that equation after the roundabout path it took for him to
arrive in the thick of things.

Coming out of Shaw in
2010, Porter signed with LSU and was on campus for summer workouts. When the
Tigers wound up in an over-signing numbers crunch, Porter was the odd man out
and was asked to grayshirt.

That would've meant
putting that dream on hold, and that was something painful for Porter to
digest.

So instead, Porter
snapped up a scholarship offer from Kentucky, where he redshirted during the 2010
season.

After just one
semester, though, Porter was back at LSU and working toward his current role as
Lonergan's backup. In spring practice, Porter made enough of an impression to
be land the Most Improved Award when hardware was passed out.

It's been a long
journey from being cut loose to stepping into Tiger Stadium as a starter. But
it's also something Porter said he has worked hard to make sure he was ready
for.

"Yeah, I was nervous, but
it's all part of the game," Porter said. "I knew I was going to do well. All it
is football.

"As the center, you
have to make sure the snap is right, make sure the calls are right and you have
to communicate, because if you don't, things get all out of whack. It's a
thinking man's position and once you get the hang of it, you play a lot more."

Porter did that last
week, logging 39 snaps after getting 15 the week before.

Lonergan, a former star
at Rummel, said he could've started (he did get in for 21 snaps against Idaho),
but there was some value and pride in watching his protégé take a spin at the
wheel.

"It was kind of strange
because you're so used to being out there, but I was also excited for Elliott
for getting those reps and getting that first start under his belt," said
Lonergan, a starter since the last two games of the 2009 season.

Associated PressTigers center P.J. Lonergan was limited by a back strain last week, and said he was proud of his protege, Elliott Porter.

"He played very well.
There's some stuff that when you're a first-time starter, you're so excited to
hit somebody that there are some mental busts, but he'll learn from those and
get better."

There should be more
opportunities for Porter to do so Saturday, even if the Tigers stay
injury-free.

Miles said he likes the
chance to move linemen around - part ongoing audition, part finding the right
fit and part keeping guys as fresh as possible.

One spot where that
could come into play and perhaps be the most impactful is at the left tackle
spot.

Dworaczyk has gotten
the nod there the last two weeks after Chris Faulk blew a knee and went out for
the season.

The sixth-year senior was solid against Washington, but got beat
for back-to-back sacks by Idaho and left shortly after that with a calf strain.

With Auburn likely to
present a much more athletic defensive front - especially All-SEC candidate
defensive end Corey Lemonier - mixing Hurst in at left tackle could offset
whatever soreness and stamina problems Dworaczyk might encounter.

"I think start with SEC
play, having the ability to get fresh guys in there and rotate them around
really helps," said Dworaczyk, who is playing on two rebuilt knees and has also
battled ankle problems. "You get later in the season and things start to
develop, but having guys who can rotate in this early in the season keeps guys
fresh."

Added Hurst, "It's been
a good thing, getting guys different experience because over the course of the
season, guys are going to get banged up and there's going to be times when duty
calls."